Role & capabilities
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- Redwire / Edge Autonomy
- Origin / production countries
- Latvia / United States
- Other names
- No additional names recorded
- Variants / configurations
- Penguin Mk2.5 VTOL / Penguin C VTOL; conventional Penguin C Mk2 is distinct
- Operators / programme customers
- Latvia Ministry of Defence; Lithuania Ministry of Defence; Royal Saudi Air Force
Evidence & current status
Published performance is supplier-reported and configuration dependent; operational use does not independently validate every specification.
Penguin Mk2.5 VTOL is the vertical-take-off member of the Penguin reconnaissance-aircraft family now marketed by Redwire. Its heritage includes UAV Factory and Edge Autonomy. The family name also covers conventional-launch aircraft, so a Penguin C Mk2 endurance claim should not be copied onto the VTOL model.
Redwire's current product page presents a fixed-wing platform with automatic vertical take-off and landing, modular mission payloads and emergency parachute recovery. The listed communications reach is a radio-link figure, not a statement of total route distance. Performance is explicitly dependent on the installed equipment, which is relevant when comparing a small imaging gimbal with a different sensor or relay package.
The company's annual filing identifies Latvian and Lithuanian defence customers and the Royal Saudi Air Force for the VTOL variant. It separately associates the conventional Penguin C Mk2 with Ukrainian use. This profile preserves that distinction. Aircraft origin and corporate ownership are also separate questions: the Latvia-linked industrial lineage sits within a United States-owned group, without implying that every aircraft is assembled in both countries.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Fixed-wing aircraft with vertical-lift capability | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Launch / recovery | Automatic VTOL; emergency parachute recovery | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Propulsion | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | 4.12 m wingspan | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Mass | 41 kg MTOW | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | 12+ hours | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Range | Up to 180 km communications range | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Speed | 30+ knots cruise; 65+ knots maximum | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Altitude | 4,000 m ceiling | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Payload | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Modular EO/IR payload options | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Communications / navigation | Digital video, data and communications-relay options | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
Publication history
- — Added a sourced global catalogue profile with configuration-specific data and explicit evidence limits.
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Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- Current Penguin Mk2.5 VTOL specifications (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
- Redwire annual filing: customers and variant distinctions (opens in a new tab)Company regulatory filing
- Latvian Penguin industrial programme records (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme